Archive for November, 2008

In this above average re-imagining of “The Monkey’s Paw”, Deathdream tells the story of what happens to a family when an American soldier, Andy (Richard Backus), returns home despite having been reported as being KIA in Vietnam.

Alright, it’s official — Zooey Deschanel is a goddess. She needs to be in more movies like this. Of course, she has help from a great script co-written by David Gordon Green and lead actor, Paul Schneider.

David Gordon Green surpasses his moody first film, George Washington, to create something emotionally powerful and genuine. Both Zooey and Paul wrecked me with their amazing performances that had invisible seams; they inhabit their characters so wholly, and reel off dialogue so naturally you forget that these are actors.

Basically, Paul’s character starts a romance with Zooey’s virginal character, and they have to negotiate her brother’s disapproval because of Paul’s womanizing past as well as parsing their feelings to see if its genuine love or not. Paul is convinced that his feelings are real, but an act on Zooey’s part during a party at a lake house threatens their relationship.

This movie has a singular pacing and feeling that is lyrical and poetic. The music aids this floating feeling, that these characters drift into each other and may drift apart. And once again, the performances all around are very strong. Paul and Zooey wear their wounds openly and and what comes pouring out is revelatory. They convince you that they are trying to figure things out in the moment, and it is effortless.

The scene where Zooey confesses her indiscretion to Paul is a stand out, as well as the one where Paul, in an attempt at reconciliation, changes his mind and punches out the window of his car. Finally, the scene where Paul has it out with his mother, Patricia Clarkson, and she breaks down is devastating.

This film has a more cohesive narrative, but Gordon Green still finds many moments to include ambient “pillow” shots that help support and infuse scenes with an emotional quality missing from most films today. It’s a European sensibility filtered through a midwestern small-town ethos.

***1/2 stars. Highly recommended for great performances and a great script.

Yet another whodunnit adapted from an Agatha Christie mystery starring that irascible Belgian, Herecule Poirot (Albert Finney). This time set on the famous intercontinental steam train, Detective Poirot must solve the murder of a wealthy man on the snowbound train before it is set free and the report made to the Yugoslavian police who will take over the case.

Like Death On The Nile, this film is chock full o’ stars — a somewhat higher caliber of stars, many hailing from classic Hollywood. You’ve got a gorgeous collection of leading ladies, starting with Lauren Bacall, and then you have Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset and Vanessa Redgrave. On the men’s side you have Martin Balsam, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Michael York and Sean Connery. It’s amazing to see such talent in an ensemble getting brief scenes in which to have their moments and in longer scenes where they are gathered together to just listen as Albert Finney runs through a ten minute dialogue explaining the solution to the murder!

The mystery does not suffer under the mountainous amounts of dialogue being shoveled into our ears, though it can be a challenge to keep up when the relationships between each character becomes resolved. Still, Finney’s performance really shines here even if his Poirot is less warm than Ustinov’s interpretation, and more irascible.

The stars on-screen are not the only objects that dazzle. The sets are all very lavish, and the cinematography impressive. There is an amazing tracking shot down the length of the train in its berth that ends on the front lights being turned on. The music score is also very lush and timeless, avoiding the need to pin the movie down to its 30s setting.

If anything, the opening sequence detailing the kidnap and death plot of Daisy Armstrong (stripped directly from the real-life Lindbergh case) may be overwhelming and confusing because a ton of information gets heaped up-front.

All in all, Sidney Lumet does a great job balancing each actor, giving them their moments, and keeping the proceedings brisk even if the dialogue threatens to grind everything to a halt, much like the stalled train stuck in the snowbanks.

Big Bad Toy Store has just processed my pre-order for Wave 13 of G.I. Joe carded figures in which a new line, Resolute, makes its debut; Also Vehicle Wave 4 (which premieres the Sting Raider (aka Water Moccasin) and the Ghost Hawk (aka Sky Hawk)) is being processed. That means in about a week and a half or so, more lovely packaged pics for all to enjoy.

Another film that appears to have been unfairly maligned, perhaps due to the malingering taste left from The Village and critics writing Mr. Shyamalan off as the “One Twist Wonder.” I certainly had fallen into the latter camp, but coming into this movie despite the negative press, I can say that I found a space in which to enjoy this film.

This Story’s Got Legs

Basically set-up as a bedtime story from the opening narration and animation, Shyamalan is telling us to set aside serious critical thought and forgive leaps in logic and suspend our disbelief for a fantasy film. It is a shrewd maneuver even if a bit arrogant in its attempt to be critic-proof.

This figure is just a repaint of the Wave 5 Crimson Guard, though it makes little sense to continue to call him “Crimson” when he is predominantly yellow and grey.

So while we await the release of more Python Patrol members (Python Copperhead is on the way), this figure on its own, while still an excellent mold, is somewhat ho-hum. But Wave 12 was never meant to blow us away with anything new and was only meant to be repaints and repacks like Waves 4 and 8.

Tripwire makes his single-carded appearance in Wave 12; he initially was included in the Comic 2-Pack (w5) with Cobra Commander. Unlike a straight repack, Tripwire has been packaged with a MASS element cannister. It is yellow to represent the meteorite element.

This character does a fairly good job of recapturing the likeness of the classic version, though I would have preferred the smooth padding as it was adapted for the H.I.S.S. Driver and AVAC Pilot since that would have been more accurate to the classic figure. But a mere collector’s quibble means nothing as the overall figure is excellent.

The MASS cannister my figure came with has a removable glass casing, though I’m not sure if this is meant to occur or if it is faulty manufacturing. Therefore I wouldn’t suggest trying to twist off the cannister’s casing. The inclusion of this accessory means that you can complete your MASS device, along with the cannisters that come with the Cobra Diver (w12) and Cobra Commander (w8, w12).